‘Close enough isn’t good enough’: NRL happy with controversial calls that decided elimination finals

Canberra and Cronulla fans might not like it, but the NRL has given its verdict on a couple of massive calls from the weekend’s thrilling finals matches.

NRL football boss Graham Annesley (The Advertiser/ Morgan Sette)

NRL head of football Graham Annesley says “close enough isn’t good enough” when it comes to scoring tries, and has backed the Bunker for making two big calls in the two elimination finals over the weekend.

Rugby league is a sport that can come down to the finest of margins, and that was the case in the two do-or-die games with the Sharks knocked out after losing by a point, while the Raiders were eliminated following an extra-time epic in the Hunter.

But the result could have been very different in the Shire with Cronulla coach Craig Fitzgibbon adamant Cam McInnes scored a try in the first half.

The tireless lock forward got over the line but referee Gerard Sutton ruled he was held up by Roosters defenders Siua Wong and Lindsay Collins.

The Sharks were denied an early try by the barest of margins. Picture; Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images

“I thought Cam McInnes scored,” Fitzgibbon said.

The Bunker looked at several replays but didn’t see any definitive angles that showed the ball on the line which would have allowed them to overrule the live decision.

“It’s virtually impossible for the Bunker to reach any conclusion based on those angles,” Annesley said.

“You can see arms, but you really can’t determine whether the ball is on the ground or not.

“In this scenario, there’s no definitive evidence in any of these replays that the ball has hit the ground.

“The Bunker can’t make a decision based on guesswork. They can’t say ‘in all likelihood the ball hit the ground’. The referee is standing directly above it and doesn’t believe the ball hit the ground.

“There’s absolutely no way this decision could be overturned by the Bunker on the basis of the video evidence.

A VERY close call sees the Raiders denied their first try of the game.

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It was a similar situation in Newcastle on Sunday when Ata Mariota went agonisingly close to scoring a try, with the referee in a perfect position to rule that the Raiders prop was held up.

“This comes as close as you can possibly get, but close enough isn’t good enough under the rules,” said Annesley, with replays showing Mariota’s arm was under the ball as he tried to ground it.

“Under the rules, the ball has to be grounded in the in-goal area, and it’s actually the hand that’s carrying the ball that is on the ground with the ball on top of it.

“There’s nothing to show the ball actually touching the ground.”

Annesley also ticked off a couple of huge defensive plays from Roosters stars James Tedesco and Luke Keary who were deemed to be in onside positions when they rushed out of the line to charge down field goal attempts.

He also backed Ashley Klein who blew a penalty in extra-time which put the Knights in front after they were initially awarded a set restart for Hudson Young being offside, with the call upgraded to a penalty after Kalyn Ponga lost the ball.

A late Kalyn Ponga penalty goal helped the Knights eliminate the Raiders. Picture; Brendon Thorne/Getty Images

“Hudson Young has an active impact on the game because Kalyn Ponga is about to shoot the field goal,” he said.

“As Hudson Young approaches, he knows he’s not going to get the field goal away so he steps off his left foot and goes towards the right side of the field where play breaks down.

“When play breaks down, the referee has no option to blow the penalty because he’s already awarded the six again.”